Coordinator Comment -- Giving thanks for Thanksgiving Day

Holidays get pretty crazy for me. In fact, as I approach being officially "in my 20s" (I'll be 21 in December), I am beginning to realize that holidays get pretty crazy for just about everyone.

First of all, I'm usually away at college for about eight months out of the year, so the only time I really come home and get to see my family is on holidays and the occasional rushed weekend trip. Since I'm seldom around, I try to squeeze in as many visits as I can with as many people back home as I can, which can get pretty hectic, especially when you account for the fact that I have "two families." They like to call me a "hot commodity" when I'm home. I'll admit, it sometimes makes me feel like a celebrity.

I remember being in elementary school and having my friends get jealous because I had divorced parents, which meant that I got TWO Christmas and TWO birthdays every year. Now that I'm older, that means lots and lots of driving around the holidays, especially since mine and my brother's birthdays are both right before Christmas.

It also means lots and lots of food. Over the past few years I've developed what I like to call my "method of conservation." That is, conservation of my waistline. I'll go through all of Thanksgiving or Christmas taking the smallest portions possible of everything. Last year on Thanksgiving Day, I ate Thanksgiving dinner at my dad's house, then hopped down the street to my boyfriend's grandmother's house, then landed at my mom's house. You can see why this method is necessary now, I'm sure.

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Most of what all this means, though, is that I am lucky enough to have so many, many family members that love me enough that they all want to see me on these holidays, even if I arrive half-crazed and with an already bloated midsection that my friends like to call my "food baby."